1. Diversity, Conflict, and Change
Slide 1
Slide 1
SOCIOLOGY
Diversity, Conflict, and Change
Systems of Inequality
Note: Read Ch.7 till page
208 only
Chapter Seven
Kenneth J. Neubeck
University of Connecticut
Davita Silfen Glasberg
University of Connecticut

2. Systems of Inequality
Sets of social relationships built (structured) around an attribute, such as wealth , to which members of society accord a great deal of meaning and importance in everyday life

3. Systems of Inequality
Social stratification — ways people occupying different social positions can be ranked from high to low i.e. in a hierarchy
Ideology — systematic body of ideas held by members of a class, institution, or group
Cultural hegemony — dominance of set of ideas that govern actions and make other options appear not to make sense

4. Inequality 1. It is universal but variable. What does this tell you?
2. Reflects social arrangement of society, and the world.
3. Persists over generations. How?
4. Involves “legitimating” (justifying) beliefs to keep the powerful powerful and the inequality alive from generation to generation.

5. Economic Inequality
Economic inequality — system of inequality characterized by vast difference in wealth and income
Class — segment of the population whose members are similar in their possession of and access to economic resources versus the Caste system stratification, which is strictly by virtue of birth e.g. India

6. Davis-Moore Thesis - Functionalism
Social inequality and stratification has beneficial consequences for the operation of society.
Conflict theorists ask, beneficial for whom?

8. Economic Inequality Wealth, Income, and Poverty
Wealth — value of the assets or property that one owns
Income — money received in the form of hourly wages or annual salaries, government benefits, or return on investments
Net worth — value of one’s assets (wealth), minus the value of one’s outstanding debts

9. Economic Inequality Different Perspectives on Economic Inequality
The Functionalist Perspective on Economic Inequality —belief that economic inequality is result of beneficial forces and that different occupational levels in society should receive markedly different rewards because certain occupations are more important than others in a society.

10. Economic Inequality Critics claim:
Very important jobs, e.g., caretaking, garbage collection etc not rewarded.
Economic inequality leads to a “dysfunctional” situations, crime, wasted talents etc…

11. Dimensions of Stratification
Weber- It is class, status and power that defines stratification and not only class by itself- Weber’s dimensions of stratification are class, status and power-

12. Economic Inequality
A Conflict Perspective on Economic Inequality — view holding that extreme economic inequality in a society is neither natural nor inevitable but gives rise to conflict within society
Ruling Class
Exploited Class
Ideology
legitimations

13. Note: The data points represent the midpoints of the respective years.
Economic Inequality
Figure 7.1
Number of Poor and Poverty Rates in the United States:
Note: The data points represent the midpoints of the respective years.
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Poverty in the United States: 2002, p. 3.

14. Economic Inequality Figure 7.2
Poverty Rates in the United States by Race and Latino/Latina Origin:
Note: The data points represent the midpoints of respective years. Data for Blacks are not available from 1960 to Data for the other race and Latino/a origin groups are shown from the first year available. Latinos/as may be of any race.
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Poverty in the United States: 2002, pp

15. Racial Inequality
System of inequality in which members of one race are thought of and treated as less worthy than members of another, resulting in discrimination and exploitation
Minority group — inferior status assigned by the dominant group to another group of people

16. Lenski- Power & Privilege
Inequality occurs only in societies that produce a surplus.
There is no need to equally distribute the surplus for survival
Distribution of surplus thus depends on how much power you have
“Might” determines “right”

17. Racial Inequality The Concept of “Race”
Race — category into which people are assigned based on social meaning and significance given to certain physical characteristics
Ethnic group — persons who share a common culture

18. Racial Inequality
Racial formation — process in which the dominant groups establish the content and importance of racial categories (Omi and Winant)
Genocide — systematic extermination of a group of people by those who consider themselves racially superior

19. Racial Inequality
Personal Racism — racial prejudice or discrimination expressed by individuals or small groups of people
Institutional Racism — racial prejudice or discrimination embedded in the routine functioning of societal institutions
Implicit affirmative action overshadows the de-jure affirmative action.

20. Gender Inequality
System in which males and females are perceived and treated as unequals, usually characterized by a belief in male superiority, a system based upon patriarchy.

21. Stratification and Inequality in the U.S.
Of all high income nations, the US has the greatest inequality
1. Poorest 40% have ZERO wealth
Richest 20% have 84% of wealth
The Richest 1% have over 50% of wealth if you take out owner occupied homes from wealth calculation.

22. What about income Richest 20% in the US have 48% of income
Poorest 20% get 4% of income
Who does the dirty work??

23. Income Increase Richest 20% saw their family incomes rise by 59%
The income of the lowest 20% saw a rise of only 7.5%

24. Remember the 60% number for your exam!
While the middle class struggles to fulfill its tax obligations, 60 percent of corporations pay no taxes at all. At a time of rising corporate profits, the GAO reports that 95 percent of corporations paid less than 5 percent of their income in taxes, and 6 in 10 (60%) paid nothing (zero taxes) at all in federal taxes from 1996 through 2000 (Their revenues were $3.5 TRILLION). With corporate tax dodging at a record high, and the percentage of federal tax revenue from corporations approaching record lows.

25. Race and Income
In 1970 African Americans had an income equal to 61% of a white family, This means that for every $100 made by a white family, the African American family made $61
In 2001 the number had improved by just 1%, now they make $62 for every $100 made by a white family

26. Women and Income Women have made greater gains
1980 women made $60 for every $100 made by a man doing similar work
In 2001 they made $76 per every $100 made by men

27. Indicators of this inequality
1. Multiple job holdings just to make ends meet are going up
2. New jobs being created offer less pay
3. More young people are staying at home with their parents; 49% of the young aged are living with their parents. As a result marriage age is going up for both men and women. The average for women now is 25.1, for men 27; an increase of 3 years compared to the 1970s.

28. Types of deprivation
Absolute Deprivation: Threatens your very existence
Relative Deprivation: how deprived you are compared to the people around you.

29. Social Profile of the Poor
1. Most of the poor are children and women; 16% of all under 18 are poor, or 12 million- remember most of the poor are women and children (exam question)
2. African Americans make 12.5% of the US population but are 25% of the poor.
3. 60% of the poor over 18 are WOMEN- another indicator of how our patriarchal society is hostile to women.
Feminization of poverty: This concept is used by sociologists to categorize the increasing % of women in the population of the poor.

30. Inner city versus Suburb versus Rural
Inner city poverty= 16.5%
Suburbs =8.2 %
Rural poverty= 14.2%
Number of homeless+ 1.5 million during any given year, an estimate
44% of them work at least part time but are still homeless.

31. Official number of the poor.
2000- Government Statistics (OFFICIAL- poverty rate)- 11.3%, 2007 it was 12.5%,
31 million, now over 37 million- over 19% increase since Bush took office in 2000, population increase in the same time period has been 5%.
How does the government measure the poverty rate?
For a two person household the official poverty rate is $14000/yr. How do they arrive at that estimate?

32. Poverty rates in 2007 were
non-Hispanic Whites (8.2 percent of the population were poor),
Blacks (24.5 percent),
Asians (10.2 percent)
Hispanics (21.5 percent in 2007, up from 20.6 percent in 2006).

33. Wealth-fare as against welfare
In 1996, the figure for total wealth-fare was $448 billion a year. By 1999, that number had grown to $603 billion. The 2003 estimate of $815 billion shows an 82 percent increase in just seven years (subsidies, handouts, tax breaks to the corporations and the very rich)
(Zepezauer, Mark based on U.S. budget data)

34. Estimated Military/Security spending for 2009, over
COST OF THE IRAQ WAR
So far over $600 BILLION- when they “marketed” it i.e. sold it to the public they said it wouldn’t cost any more than $50 billion. This is in addition to spending on the military in the budget , which runs over half a trillion every year.
Estimated Military/Security spending for 2009, over
$ 738 Billion, + past military bills that are being met are several hundred billion more.
Interest on deficit spending per year, well over $310 billion- profits to banks that we will have to pay for. Loans taken out by the government on our behalf without asking us.
Military/Security spending includes Base military budget, War on Terror supplemental funding, Department of Homeland security and other spending

35. Making the public poor at the expense of the rich.
This is the way wealth flows to the corporations from the public.
New package of around $700 billion is being designed to bail out banks.
The future generations pay for deficit spending the government does today(2004 figures for the deficit were $668 billion). This money that the government spends on your behalf goes where? It goes to”
The corporations from whom goods or services are bought (like tanks and fighter jets) on your behalf &
The Banks that provide this money to the government to spend in “deficit”.